43,429 Shares in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) Purchased by CenterBook Partners LP

CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 43,429 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $2,060,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BNS. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.3% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,801 shares of the bank's stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 5.5% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,155,791 shares of the bank's stock valued at $54,819,000 after acquiring an additional 60,506 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.2% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 14,938 shares of the bank's stock valued at $709,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 54.9% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,629 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,216,000 after purchasing an additional 8,018 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,438 shares of the bank's stock valued at $614,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207 shares in the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE BNS traded up $0.07 on Friday, hitting $55.12. 358,863 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,777,174. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $53.61 and a 200 day moving average of $50.94. Bank of Nova Scotia has a twelve month low of $43.68 and a twelve month high of $57.07. The company has a market capitalization of $68.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.12.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The bank reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.14 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $6.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.98 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 8.83% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The business's revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.58 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.7996 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.80%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 2nd. This is an increase from Bank of Nova Scotia's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Bank of Nova Scotia's dividend payout ratio is currently 94.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BNS. Bank of America downgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen cut Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $81.00.

About Bank of Nova Scotia

The Bank of Nova Scotia provides various banking products and services in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Colombia, the Caribbean and Central America, and internationally. It operates through Canadian Banking, International Banking, Global Wealth Management, and Global Banking and Markets segments.